An Air Force veteran has called for the famous Blue Angels air show team to be eliminated for being too loud and dirty.
Breck Lebegue, a doctor who once served as a USAF surgeon, said the 110-decibel roar of planes put people at risk of deafness.
Writing in the Seattle weatherLebegue also highlighted how the F/A-18 display team emitted 670 metric tons of carbon monoxide during two days of displays.
He said that was equivalent to 30 cars making a trip of 150,000 miles each.
The Blue Angels will perform at Seattle’s annual Seafair this weekend, wowing thousands of spectators.
Seattle Air Force veteran and physician Breck LeBegue wants the Blue Angels, pictured over Houston, Texas, in May 2020, fired over health and safety concerns.
But the pleasure that the planes bring to millions of people each year did not convince LeBegue, who wrote: “It’s time to say hello and goodbye to the Blue Angels at Seafair.
‘While we need trained fighter pilots to defend our nation and our allies from enemies, these air shows cause significant health damage.’
LeBegue urged locals to download a decibel-measuring app on their phones to record how loud the Blue Angels are.
He warned that prolonged exposure to sound levels above 85 decibels can permanently damage hearing.
Planes identical to those used by the Blue Angels are based in part at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island near Seattle, and Lebegue claims 74,000 locals were at risk of “adverse health effects” from the roar of their engines.
U.S. Air Force veteran and physician Breck LeBegue, pictured, wants the planes phased out
Citing a scientific study, he explained: “It is estimated that a considerable number of those exposed were very upset and had severe sleep disorders, and several schools were exposed to levels that put them at risk of childhood learning delays.”
LeBegue went on to say that allowing the Blue Angels to fly over Seattle goes against the city’s progressive attempts to go green.
Local officials want to reduce greenhouse gases by 30 percent between 2008 and 2030.
The Blue Angels are pictured flying over El Centro, California, in March 2023.
The iconic US Navy display team was created in 1946, but Lebegue says the carbon emissions emitted by the planes are too bad for the planet.
The doctor said leaving the Blue Angels was a form of “harm reduction.”
He added: ‘Thank the Blue Angels for their service and past performances, say goodbye and let’s move on with quieter planes, cleaner air and wholesome family fun.
Let’s honor the past and define the future. Let’s reimagine Seafair without the Angels.
The Blue Angels, whose formal name is the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, were formed in 1946 as a means to promote the U.S. Navy and entertain Americans.
Based in Pensacola, Florida, the Blue Angels perform at least 60 shows across the United States each year, often in the most picturesque locations in the country.
At the height of the first COVID outbreak in 2020, the Blue Angels embarked on a tour of American cities to thank essential workers.
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